Negotiating with someone in authority can be tenacious. Negotiating can become more volatile when you also hold a position of authority. So how can you negotiate successfully when you are negotiating with a person in authority? Here are three strategies you can employ when you find yourself in such situations.
1. Know the source from which the person you are negotiating with derives their authority. By doing so, you’ll get an idea of how they use their authority (ie, if the person is a judge, they may be in the mindset that people follow their orders without question. If you’re negotiating with such a person, be careful). prepared to snap them out of their mental realm of thinking that you will blindly follow their every command. You may also want to set boundaries, where she respects your authority before the negotiation begins.)
2. Set the stage. Let the other negotiator know, through body language or verbal communications from him, that you will not follow his lead simply because he is in a position of authority outside of the current negotiating environment. Be very diplomatic in the way he communicates his intentions. When setting the stage, you don’t want to create plans on which problems can arise.
3. Always be aware of the fact that authority is transparent. It only exists to the extent that you wish to acknowledge it. Thus, you establish the limits according to the degree of importance that you give to the authority in the negotiation. Set the limits appropriately to balance the level of attribution required to make it valid, as seen by the person you are negotiating with. Be careful not to let your authority settings overshadow your position.
When dealing with people, always remember that authority is positional. Someone who has authority in an environment does not have to transfer that authority to an environment in which they have no experience. Authority is also perception. If you choose not to acknowledge someone’s authority, your authority is null to you. Perception becomes reality and therefore people only have as much or as little authority as you give them.
When negotiating with people of authority, determine in advance which part of your authority you will allow into the negotiation. In essence, while you respect their authority, you set limits by which you will control the level of influence you allow their authority to have. By doing so, you will be better equipped to control the interactions that occur in the negotiation. You will gain more respect for your position of authority. You will also be able to “flow” the negotiation to a more successful outcome, in a shorter period of time… and all will be well with the world.
Trading tips are…
When negotiating, remember that authority is positional. He only has the ‘power’ that you give him in your current trading situation.
· While negotiating, you do not have to transfer authority from someone from one area of your life to the environment in which you are negotiating. If it’s not appropriate to acknowledge the authority of the other negotiator, don’t acknowledge it.
One strategy you can use when negotiating is to make the other negotiator work to recognize your authority. If you do it strategically, you can get yourself a mental token to trade during the negotiation.
